Maybe an abseiling trip such as Swinsto/Simpson's? - but you'd need to be certain of pulling your ropes down OK, and pre-rig the Valley Entrance with a ladder. Or if you want a longer trip maybe Wretched Rabbit to the Lancaster sump and back? You'd need to be well up on the route finding though.

Tathams Wife is another excellent ladder trip which is pretty deep - only 4 pitches and all quite short. We used to do it using ladders with freshers sometimes. Don't know how deep Knacker Trapper is but if you're a good climber you'd only need a couple ladders max. Although we use SRT in there, Hammer Pot would be an excellent ladders trip: biggest pitch is 17m. Penyghent Pot, one of the deepest caves in the Dales, could very easily be done using a minimum of 5 ladders (the first 4 pitches and Myers Leap - the rest can all be climbed) and was regularly done on ladders into the late 1980s by ULSA members exploring the extensions. In fact, DB likes to tell stories about free-climbing up the big pitch in Penyghent in the early 70s, which is conceivable (its basically a huge chimney) but overall quite stupid.

To be honest, your question seems a bit odd to me considering ladders can actually be used for everything and anything if you want to. They are the simplest tool for descending pitches in a cave. Climbing deep pitches on electron ladders requires quite a different kind of fitness to SRT though, mainly a lot more arms.

As Dave says, if you want truly tackle-free deep caving then OFD is the cave to go to.

I sometimes find the term deepest quite contrived. Surely it’s the deepest point of a cave ie most rock above your head, rather than when you do a through trip and emerge at a resurgence. Many dales potholes, you’ve got a good idea when you get to the bottom, you’re at the deepest physical point. Ingleborough cave or white scar surely have plenty of rock above your head, and are so deep, without the need for gear. Maybe the total amount of descent is more suitable terminology?

Entering Boundary then heading to the downstream sump at the end of the main drain has to be about 100m depth? no pitches at all if you free climb the 8m pitch in boundary (I always have).

Also on the Notts 2 trip if you know the way you can go all the way to the downstream sump in Lost John's main drain. You can avoid SRT entirely on that route too provided you fit through the squeeze connection into the bottom of Boxhead (Already at least 110m deep there) and then through the tube.

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Although normally referring to distance below a surface, it doesn't always e.g. deep in the woods ...

If you include diving then it is presumably Boundary Pot to the bottom of Gavel at about 180m, although I very much doubt it's ever been done. Roaring at 130m seems a pretty good candidate. Swinsto to valley entrance would come in at about 120m (if you allowed abseiling).

Depending on the depth of Lost John's (I've found figures of 145m & 211m - to bottom of sump?), first gives 110m below Notts ll entrance, the other 175m (inc. technical diving?). Altitude of Notts ll is 50m below that of Boxhead.

Not quite sure of the actual depth - but with only a couple of ladders you can nearly bottom Birks Fell - must be over 100m down at the top of Shale. Doesn't beat those already mentioned - but it such a great place I thought it was worth mentioning.Steve

I sometimes find the term deepest quite contrived. Surely it’s the deepest point of a cave ie most rock above your head, rather than when you do a through trip and emerge at a resurgence. Many dales potholes, you’ve got a good idea when you get to the bottom, you’re at the deepest physical point. Ingleborough cave or white scar surely have plenty of rock above your head, and are so deep, without the need for gear. Maybe the total amount of descent is more suitable terminology?

I had taken "deepest" in the sense that it appears on a cave survey, as in the total vertical range.

This could apply equally to a through trip as a down and up trip, though obviously the sporting nature of the trip would be very different.

If you include diving then it is presumably Boundary Pot to the bottom of Gavel at about 180m, although I very much doubt it's ever been done. Roaring at 130m seems a pretty good candidate. Swinsto to valley entrance would come in at about 120m (if you allowed abseiling).Mike

I'm not sure what you are referring to here - the deepest cave in the Dales, or the OP's original question? If the former, then the deepest is (possibly) Large Pot to the bottom of Gavel upstream sump at about 253 metres. If the latter, you have three pitches between Boundary and the bottom of Gavel, two in the Earby Series and one in Pippikin.

Okay, I didn't know if there were pitches between the dives, so discount that one. That leaves Notts ll to bottom of Lost John's at 175m (if you include diving). How deep can you get without cylinders?

Birks Fell is listed on cavemaps as 142m, so is up there in the running...

Okay, I didn't know if there were pitches between the dives, so discount that one. That leaves Notts ll to bottom of Lost John's at 175m (if you include diving). How deep can you get without cylinders?

Depends if falling counts, because you could fall down that 40m pitch below flood to get lower but that's still only -140m. More seriously you can get to the bottom of mud hall which is about -130~m?

Mud Hall isn't actually as deep as one would first guess, as you start way, way above the Main Chamber floor level. According to the PUSA survey the sump in Hensler's Master Cave is lower than the bottom of Mud Hall. We won't really know, though, until the new survey is published.